The city's $2 million Super Bowl security plan – designed to combat everything from terrorism to fan rowdiness – was pronounced an overwhelming success last night. Only 18 people were arrested at the game, mostly for drunkenness.

With a new high-tech video surveillance system, a no-fly zone and military aircraft on patrol, the only things in the sky were the spirits of Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans and police.

"I couldn't be more pleased. It was a very uneventful day, unless you came from Tampa Bay," said San Diego police Capt. Joel Bryden, in charge of the Super Bowl security plan.

Bryden said the arrests were just a fraction of the number at a typical Chargers game. The plan to keep fans without tickets out of the stadium parking lot, plus a fence that created a buffer zone that slowly funneled fans through checkpoints, made the security plan much stronger than the 1998 Super Bowl in San Diego.

Bryden said the police contingent was triple the number normally assigned to a Chargers game, and scores of private security in yellow jackets patrolled every cranny of the stadium.

There were no incidents at the nearby tank farm, which was protected by the National Guard because police feared a terrorist could crash a plane into the gasoline storage facility and ignite an inferno.

"We put our plan in place and it apparently went very well with no major incidents," Bryden said. "It's a tribute to all the men and women who helped implement this plan."

Authorities conducted a bomb sweep of the stadium from 10 p.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Saturday. After that, no vehicles were allowed within the perimeter without passing through a giant X-ray machine. Only credentialed staff were allowed inside the stadium before the game.

Police said Raiders fans, who have a reputation for rowdiness, were subdued, perhaps due to the score. The arrests "could not be attributed to any type of fan," Bryden said.

One man, part of the crowd near the stage at halftime, was ejected from the game during Gwen Stefani's performance when he began to disrobe to reveal tattoos, police said.

Another man was arrested on suspicion of felony grand theft, 11 people were arrested on public drunkenness charges, and the others were for minor reasons, Bryden said. A typical Chargers game nets about 50 arrests, he said.

Five years ago, when the Super Bowl previously was held in San Diego, 36 people were taken into custody on game day, mostly for trying to sneak in without a ticket.

FBI spokesman John Iannarelli said things went smoothly for agents who were standing by at a command center near their Kearny Mesa headquarters.

"It's been incredibly quiet. San Diego P.D. did an incredible job," he said. "Everyone was very well-behaved. As of now, it's been a great day."

Police urged fans to arrive early and they did. The parking lot configuration, designed by architects, had limousines and buses lined up neatly in pockets, and fans streamed through pedestrian chutes that delivered them to five screening locations hundreds of feet from the stadium.

Bryden estimated that at most, fans waited 40 minutes to pass through one of the 90 metal detectors at five locations to enter the game. The heat was the biggest problem. Most people were patient and cooperative, Bryden said.

Fans said they were happy about security measures.

"I don't mind it at all," said Dennis Franz, an actor from the television show "NYPD Blue." "As soon as we got here, we felt safe."

Franz attended with his family and many of his fellow actors.

Bryden reported one violation of the no-fly zone, but the private plane was on the outskirts of the 7-mile restriction and moved out without incident.

The biggest problem for most of the many police officers and private security officers was fatigue. Many were working more than 12-hour shifts and had to report downtown after the game, where police were gearing up for a busy night.

Police arrested 91 people from Thursday through Saturday at downtown Super Bowl celebrations, most for drunkenness, indecent exposure and inciting a riot. No one was injured. In the three hours from midnight to 3 a.m. yesterday, police arrested 44 people.